Place of Birth: Temesvár, Austria-Hungary [now Timisoara, Timis, Romania]
J. Edward Bromberg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Joseph Edward Bromberg (born Josef Bromberger, December 25, 1903 – December 6, 1951) was a Romanian-born American character actor in motion picture and stage productions dating mostly from the 1930s and 1940s. By virtue of his physique, the short, somewhat rotund actor was destined to play secondary roles. Bromberg made his stage debut at the Greenwich Village Playhouse and in 1926 made his first appearance in a Broadway play, Princess Turandot. The following year, Bromberg married Goldie Doberman, with whom he had three children. Occasionally credited as J.E. Bromberg' and Joseph Bromberg, he performed secondary roles in 35 Broadway productions and 53 motion pictures until 1951. For two decades, Bromberg was highly regarded in the New York theatrical world and was a founding member of the Civic Repertory Theatre (1928–1930) and of the Group Theatre (1931–1940). Bromberg made his screen debut in 1936 under contract to Twentieth Century-Fox. The versatile actor played a wide variety of roles ranging from a ruthless New York newspaper editor (in Charlie Chan on Broadway) to a despotic Arabian sheik (in Mr. Moto Takes a Chance). Although he spoke with no trace of an accent, he was often called upon to play humble immigrants of various nationalities. When Warner Oland, the actor who played Charlie Chan, died in 1938, Fox considered Bromberg as a suitable replacement, but the role ultimately went to Sidney Toler. Fox began loaning Bromberg to other studios in 1939 and finally dropped him from the roster in 1941. He kept working for various producers, including a stint at Universal Pictures in the mid-1940s. Bromberg's most outstanding attribute was his facility with sensitive character roles; he could take a standard, undistinguished supporting part and make it unforgettably sympathetic. In Hollywood Cavalcade he portrays Don Ameche's friend who knows he will never get the girl; in Three Sons he is the lowly business associate who longs to be given a partnership; in Easy to Look At he is the once-great couturier now reduced to night watchman. In September 1950, the anti-communist magazine Red Channels accused Bromberg of being a member of the American Communist Party. Subpoenaed to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in June 1951, Bromberg refused to answer any questions in accordance with his Fifth Amendment rights.
Movie | Cast | Year |
---|---|---|
Queen of the Amazons | Gabby | 1947 |
Son of Dracula | Professor Lazlo | 1943 |
Stowaway | Judge Booth | 1936 |
Invisible Agent | Karl Heiser | 1942 |
Arch of Triumph | Verdun Hotel Manager | 1948 |
I Shot Jesse James | Harry Kane | 1949 |
Voice in the Wind | Dr. Hoffman | 1944 |
Guilty Bystander | Varkas | 1950 |
Phantom of the Opera | Amiot | 1943 |
The Return of Frank James | George Runyan | 1940 |
Jesse James | George Runyan | 1939 |
Cloak and Dagger | Trenk | 1946 |
Charlie Chan on Broadway | Murdock, Editor New York Bulletin | 1937 |
Pillow of Death | Julian Julian | 1945 |
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm | Doctor Hill | 1938 |
Mr. Moto Takes a Chance | Raja Ali | 1938 |
Lady of Burlesque | S.B. Foss | 1943 |
Tennessee Johnson | Coke | 1942 |
Strange Cargo | Flaubert | 1940 |
Hollywood Cavalcade | Dave Spingold | 1939 |
The Baroness and the Butler | Zorda | 1938 |
The Walls Came Tumbling Down | Ernst Helms | 1946 |
Suez | Prince Said | 1938 |
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook | Professor Lazlo (archive footage) | 1991 |
The Many Faces of Dracula | Professor Lazlo (archive footage) | 2000 |
Half Way to Shanghai | Maj. U. Vinpore | 1942 |
Three Sons | Abe Ullman | 1939 |
That I May Live | Tex Shapiro | 1937 |
Devil Pays Off | Arnold DeBrock | 1941 |
Girls Dormitory | Dr. Spindler | 1936 |
Second Honeymoon | Herbie | 1937 |
Seventh Heaven | Aristide the Astrologer | 1937 |
Tangier | Alec Rocco | 1946 |
The Missing Corpse | Henry Kruger | 1945 |
Pacific Blackout | Pickpocket | 1941 |
Sally, Irene and Mary | Pawnbroker | 1938 |
The Lost City of X | Lt. George (archival footage) | 2022 |
Dance Hall | Max Brandon | 1941 |
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty | Sid Gordon | 1942 |
I'll Give a Million | Editor | 1938 |
Chip Off the Old Block | Blaney Wright | 1944 |
Reunion | Charles Renard | 1936 |
Four Men and a Prayer | General Torres | 1938 |
Wife, Husband and Friend | Rossi | 1939 |
The Mark of Zorro | Don Luis B. Quintero | 1940 |
One Wild Night | Norman | 1938 |
Hurricane Smith | 'Eggs' Bonelli | 1941 |
Sins of Man | Anton Engel | 1936 |
The Crime of Dr. Forbes | Dr. Eric Godfrey | 1936 |
Fair Warning | Matthew Jericho | 1937 |
Salome, Where She Danced | Professor Max | 1945 |
Star for a Night | Doctor Spelimeyer | 1936 |
A Song Is Born | Dr. Elfini | 1948 |
Easy to Look At | Gustav | 1945 |
Reunion in France | Durand | 1942 | Series | Cast | Year |